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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. row — a line
  3. wake — a trail
  4. content — happy
  5. face — part of the head
  6. content — the amount
  7. hand — help
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. face — to point toward
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. face — to confront
  16. bass — low music
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bass — the fish
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. band — a music group
  23. row — to paddle
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com